What Might Have Been
by ColorfulClouds
Summary: What if Bones had a sister, one that had married an alien ambassador and died far from Earth, leaving behind a lonely teenage daughter? A daughter that years later grew up, joined Starfleet, and became an Engineer on the Enterprise. What if Pavel Chekov fell deeply in love with her?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, all! I've taken a long break from Fanfic to figure out exactly what i want to write, and this is the result of that. I can't exactly promise regular updates, as i'm scatterbrained and all that, but i'll do my best if this story catches on. Let me know what you think of it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. Obviously.**

* * *

Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise wasn't the best at keeping up with paperwork, to no one's surprise. Therefore, it was hardly a shock when Spock found him in the Captain's Ready Room, piles and piles of undone paperwork all on individual PADDS piled in front of him.

"Captain, I must say-"Spock started, before Kirk stopped him with a groan.

"I know, I know, lots to do, more crap to sign, less action to get to in this quadrant of space. Tell me something I don't know, man." Kirk laid his head down in a particularly messy pile of PADDS and scratched the back of his head with the stylus he'd been using to sign the interminable paperwork.

"I have come to inform you that we received an acceptance for the request you filed with the captain of the U.S.S. Hashimoto. Captain Gerron has agreed to trade Ensign Rathers for Ensign Rachel McCoy." Spock replied, studiously ignoring his captain's theatrics "She is transferring into the Engineering department, for Gamma Shift. I have already signed it, as has Mr. Scott." Spock continued, placing the single slim PADD in front of the Captain.

"Rache is coming aboard? Why didn't you open with that, Spock? That's the best news I've heard all day!" Hurriedly, he scratched a barely legible signature at the bottom. "I've got to tell Bones, he's gonna be so psyched!" Kirk hailed the doctor, ordering him to the Ready Room on the double.

"One other thing, Captain. I would prefer to accompany you when you accept Ensign McCoy on board." Kirk glanced up at Spock, grin starting to form.

"You hold a flame for Bones' niece? I bet Uhura isn't too happy about that at all, Spock." Kirk joked, smile growing wider when Spock grimaced, an expression that was nearly undetectable, unless you spent the last few years in close quarters with him like Kirk had.

"No, Captain. We attended many of the same functions as ambassador's children together, and I merely wish to welcome an old … friend to the crew."

"Flawlessly logical as always, Spock. When can we expect her?" Kirk asked, still obviously excited about the whole concept, not worrying about Spock's personal motivations.

"She is set to arrive on the next transport in three days. Will that be all, Captain?" Spock took the PADD and left the Ready room when the captain waved at him, just as the doctor went in to receive the news.

Bones was ecstatic of course. He hadn't seen his niece in over a year, as ship to ship calls were expensive and they never seemed to be in the same sector at the same time. McCoy stayed in the ready room for the next three hours, reminiscing about Kirk's misadventures trying to woo Rachel into a date, and other goings on from when the three of them had been at the academy together. He finally left Jim to his ever expanding stack of paperwork, and prepared for her arrival.

 _ **THREE DAYS LATER**_

"Psst, Hikaru." Chekov tried to get his friend's attention as Spock, McCoy, and the Captain left the bridge to welcome their newest crewmember.

"Yeah dude, what's up?" The pilot replied, not taking his eyes off of the hand held game that he played anytime he wasn't being scrutinized by Spock or the Captain.

"Who are zey going to meet? Isn't it just an ensign? Why are zey all going to greet her?" Pavel asked. Last time an ensign had beamed aboard the ship, only his new department head went to greet him, and as far as the navigator knew, that was basic protocol.

"You mean you don't know?" Sulu asked, turning to face Pavel. At Chekov's negative head shake, Sulu continued, "The new Ensign is McCoy's niece, and a personal friend of Spock's from childhood so it's wild that they even waited this long to get her on board. She was a year behind us at the academy, so she graduated after the Nero thing. Don't know why they didn't ask for her then, but I just work here. Rumor is she's gorgeous though."

They sat in relative silence for the next fifteen or so minutes, the only noises being the beeps of the multiple consoles and Scotty's flirting with the various yeomen that wandered in with reports to sign. Finally, as Alpha shift was almost over, The Captain, Spock, the doctor, and their new crew mate came through the turbolift doors, all but Spock laughing uproariously about something. Even Spock managed a small smile, his tall frame concealing the smaller Ensign behind him. Finally, Spock stepped to his own station, and she was revealed to the bridge crew. The jaw of every man, excluding the three that brought her up to the bridge, dropped. She was stunning. Long, raven black hair, caught in a sleek ponytail, slid down her neck and disappeared behind her red clad shoulders. Her eyes were a silvery blue that were as deep and as wonderful as the lake that Pavel had visited back in San Francisco during his academy days. She was smiling, her plump red lips curving up at the corners as if she had a delicious secret. A shiver went through Pavel. "What would those lips feel like pressed against my lips, or my neck? Or-"he cut the thought off, trying to take his eyes off the vision in front of him.

All male eyes were still trained on the Woman, as McCoy bent to her and whispered in her ear. "Oh, sorry, everyone! I hadn't realized I was projecting." She said, a blush spilling across the caramel skin of her cheekbones. Suddenly, something happened, releasing the men of the spell that had been over them. Spock and McCoy, it seemed, were the only men who had been unaffected. The first officer turned from his station to face the bridge crew, who were once again taking their seats. "Ensign McCoy has an ability that comes from her species, one that allows her the ability to use pheromones to change human behavior. She has undergone training to subdue this, and this will be the only mishap regarding it, I am sure."

"Rachel!" Uhura squealed, enveloping the other woman in a hug. They immediately began chattering in a language that Pavel didn't recognize. Suddenly, he was tugged into a seat by Hikaru, who had an amused, teasing smile splayed across the bottom half of his face. "Well, well, well, look who has a crush on a certain Doctor's Niece." He teased the blushing Russian as they set up their consoles for the next shift. "Not that I blame you. Most of the men on board are probably gonna try to charm her into a date in the next few days. You should get while the getting's good, Pavel" Chekov scoffed, plugging in the auto route he had set up for Beta shift. They'd had to divert to pick up Ensign McCoy from her last ship, and he'd had to rewrite the course around it. He and Sulu waited for the Turbolift to come back up after it deposited the first round of officers, and headed to the mess hall with the rest of the bridge crew.

Upon entering the officer's mess, he realized there were more people at the table where the Alpha shift bridge crew sat. _She_ was there. Sitting on one side of her at the long rectangular table was her Uncle, and on her other side was the captain, smiling widely and whispering something in her ear. She smiled at Kirk, and Pavel felt an unexpected surge of jealously flash through him. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the unfamiliar feeling, and gathered his food.

Once he had made his way to the table, he was faced with the problem of finding a place to sit at the now crowded table. A year into their five year mission, the crew rarely had new faces to acquaint themselves with, and none of the other newer faces had been quite this beautiful. It seemed that every male crewmember had jockeyed for a place near her, all trying to ignore the fact that her uncle sat right in front of her. Finally he found a seat two spots down and across from the lovely Ensign, trying to ignore the laughter and the banter that was aimed towards the laughing woman. He snuck another glance at her. Her maddeningly plump lips curved into a wide smile, a flash of white teeth appearing between them. Pavel sucked in a breath, not expecting the sudden tightness in his lungs. Doctor McCoy glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. Pavel quickly returned his attention to his food, hiding his blush from the older man.

One by one, the other crew members went about their business as Pavel slowly ate his dinner, soon leaving him alone with the still chatting Doctor and Ensign. Try as he might, he couldn't block out the smattering of conversation that wafted down the table.

"Well, the first stop on the tour is gonna have to be Med Bay, since they just paged me. And Chekov there can join us, can't you, kid?" Bones called to him good naturedly. Pavel blushed again, trying to come up with an explanation that would take him away from the beautiful woman. Rachel smacked the doctor's arm suddenly, forehead furrowed.

"Oh, Leo, leave him alone! You don't have to come with us, I'm sure you have much better things to do than show me around. Leo just likes to stick his nose into things, I'm sorry." She directed the apology at Pavel, scarlet rushing up her neck. She looked sweet, innocent even. That must be what all women on the bridge laughed about when he blushed on duty, usually because Doctor McCoy or the Captain said something relating to his girl preferences. Last time they said something about his constant lack of a dance partner at ship parties, he'd had the distinct feeling that they were going to set him up with some unsuspecting woman soon. But surely they wouldn't set him up with the Doctor's- damn, he missed something while lost in his thoughts.

"-boy needs to get out more, and you need a friend, Rache." Bones said, looking at Pavel with a sort of fatherly affection.

"I have friends, Leo. I have Nyota and Spock and Jimmy. And don't you start with calling Spock names again, because it's-"

"Alright, Rache. Jeeze, let's just go. You coming?" Bones asking asked Pavel, a wide smile still cracking his face. Pavel thought about it a moment. The longer he spent with this gorgeous woman, the more likely he was to make a fool out of himself. On the other hand, he wanted to spend more time with her. A lot more time, and this seemed like a golden opportunity.

"Da, I mean yes, I will come." Pavel said, standing up and grabbing his tray. He'd always respected the doctor, and if the doctor wanted him to join them, he would. Besides, it was only for a short trip to the Med Bay, then Pavel could give some excuse about a report, and go back to his quarters to try and forget the beautiful Ensign and her compelling smile.

"Great!" McCoy replied, grabbing his and his niece's trays and heading towards the bussing station. "So, Rache, after we leave the Med bay, what do you feel like seeing first? The observation deck? The arboretum? Or maybe I could show you one of the rec rooms, they have a few great pool tables. You still remember how to play, right?" Bones teased, throwing their trays in the bins and looping his arm with hers. Rachel glanced back at Pavel, motioning him forward shyly and looping her other arm with his.

Pavel felt his heart beat faster, and his heart constrict "Stop it." He snapped at himself, "It's not like that, she's only trying to include you." They walked down the arm, all three arm in arm. "So, what was it like on ze other ship, Ms. McCoy?" He asked Rachel, who turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Don't you dare call me that! That makes me sound a hundred years old. Its Rachel, or Rache, whatever you like best. The _Hashimoto_ was a Medical ship, and it was dead boring. I actually moved down in rank just to get here, I was assistant to the Chief Engineer on the 'Moto." Rachel said sighing. "They finally have enough people trained up to replace the ones lost in the Nero incident, so people like me were finally able to get into the spots that we wanted in the first place. There were three people on my ship who wanted aboard the _Enterprise_ , but I had seniority, and I have a sneaking suspicion the Captain requested me. After all, someone has to make sure that Jimmy and the good doctor here aren't tearing around the universe, causing trouble and not apologizing." Rachel dug into McCoy's ribs with her elbow, and smiled.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I was a perfect citizen before I met Kirk!" Bones groused, sending a sideways glance at Pavel as he laughed. "What, Lieutenant, you have something to add?" The doctor said, grinning.

"Did zey find someone to take over for you zhere, or are zey waiting for ze next class of ensigns in a few months?" Pavel asked, ignoring Doctor McCoy and maneuvering them around an oncoming cart. Quietly, Bones dropped Rachel's arm and fell a few feet back. They continued walking, neither noticing that the doctor was several feet behind them.

"Well, they transferred over Ensign Rathers, and he'll probably be taking over a lot of my duties there. It's not a big ship, and the engines aren't anything impressive. I'm sure they'll be fine. But that's enough about me. What do you do? Nav or pilot?"

"I am ze Alpha shift Navigator. I am also trained in transporter operations and all engineering processes. When Mister Scott was… off ze Enterprise, I was acting head of Engineering. So recently I have only been on ze bridge or in ze engineering lab, working on ze thrusters. Zey have been reacting to somezing in zis area of space. I can use an extra set of hands if you would like. Do you know what hours zey have assigned you in ze engineering lab?

"Well, I'll mostly be there at night, and there'll be a few others with me. So, no thrusters for me, probably fixing broken engine parts and the like." Rachel replied, sighing. The two chatted on for the next few moments, oblivious to the looks that Doctor McCoy was shooting at them from behind. In no time, they arrived at the door to the Med Bay.

"Alright kids, lemme check on this bunch real quick and we'll get on our way." A few minutes later, he reemerged, grim. "Well, looks like you're gonna have to be the tour guide, Chekov. Try not to get lost. Have fun Rache, and if you need me, you know where to find me." The doctor turned and walked back into the Med Bay, barking orders and curses at the Nurses and Doctors in his direct line of vision.

Pavel turned to Rachel and motioned for them to walk down the corridor to a nearby bank of turbolifts. The two spent the next thirty minutes going over the bare bones of the ship, Pavel showing her the smaller mess room, the rec rooms, and main Engineering. Finally, she turned to him and smiled.

"Look. I know you got roped into this, and I'm sure that you have better stuff to do, so I can just go back to my quarters. Leo can show me around tomorrow." Rachel said, turning to look at him.

Pavel blushed again. "Well, if you'd like, I can give you a short tour of ze engineering deck, and help you find ze quarters you haf been assigned. Zere is also a holofilm showing tonight, or games in the rec room."

"Tonight I may just want to sleep. It's been a stressful few days. Do you mind walking me to my quarters, Lieutenant, or have I monopolized your time enough for today?" She asked, a shy smile slowly forming.

"I will walk you, if that's what you want. I am not sure where zey are, however. Do we need to go by personnel?" He asked, his ears pinking at when she smiled at him.

"Actually, that's probably a good idea. I have no clue what deck my room is even on, let alone my room number or roommate's name." Rachel replied, linking her arm with Pavel's again as he lead her down the corridor towards the turbolift.

"I doubt zey would assign you to ze senior officer's deck, Doctor's niece or not. Maybe to one of ze rooms on deck 12." Pavel replied, stepping into the turbolift and ordering it towards the personnel office.

"I hope they didn't assign me anywhere important, not yet at least. I plan on moving up the ranks the way everyone else does. The Captain and I may be old friends, but I don't want that to affect the way others think of me." Rachel said, eyes downcast.

"I am sure zat no one will zink differently of you because of your friendships, or your last name." Pavel replied, nudging her lightly with his elbow. She nudged him back, her ears tinged scarlet. The turbolift ground to a halt, and the two stepped out onto the brightly lit deck. The ambled into the personnel office, finally dropping arms once in front of the surly officer behind the deck.

"Yes Mr. Chekov? Can I help you with something sir?" Ensign Mateso said, hardly looking up from his screen.

"We're looking for Ensign McCoy's quarter assignment." Pavel explained, rolling his eyes at Mateso's attitude.

"Deck 12, Room 3C 45, next to Janice Rand and Marlena Makenna. Will there be anything else, sir?" Mateso replied robotically.

"No Ensign, zat is all." Pavel led the still silent Rachel out of the office, then turned to her. She was choking back laughter, which she let loose the second the door closed.

"What a rude man!" she chuckled, walking back to the turbolift with Chekov trailing behind her.

"He does seem like ze wrong kind of officer for Personnel, doesn't he? Maybe he would be better for Maintenance." Pavel joked, catching up to her and winking at her.

They rode the Turbolift in silence, Pavel looking at her out of the corner of his eye and looking away when she glanced at him. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, just a nervous one, and neither of them knew how to break it.

The turbolift stopped at her deck, and the two of them exited and walked quietly down the corridor towards Rachel's quarters. They stopped in front of her door, and he tried not to look as she put her access code into the pad by the door.

"I had a good time, Lieutenant." Rachel started, then corrected herself. "Pavel, I mean. Do you think I could impose on you again soon? Maybe just the two of us?"

"I am free two days from now, at 2100. Mebby we could have a late dinner?" Pavel asked quickly, hardly daring to hope that she'd say yes. She was gorgeous, intelligent, and single, and that sort of thing never worked out for him. For a second, he was reminded terribly of Irina, before he shook his head. She was answering him, a small smile playing on her red lips.

"That sounds perfect. I have a bottle of Indaran ale, if you'd like to try it." Rachel replied, ducking her head down to hind the blush spilling out over her cheeks. He reddened as well, before nodding at her, voice only cracking slightly as he confirmed the date and time. She giggled again, before she took his hand and looked him straight in the eye.

"It was nice to meet you, Pavel." Rachel said earnestly, with a warm smile before turning and walking into her room, letting the door shut behind her. Pavel continued to stand there for a moment longer, staring at the spot that she had been standing in. he blinked twice, then took a few steps down the hall before thrusting a fist into the air and whooping. He had a date with a beautiful woman, and he accomplished it all on his own, no interference, not even a kind word from the captain. Pavel thought that he could hardly wait for two days to be over, and went to the rec room walking on air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! More stuff about Rachel's first couple days on board. The next chapter will be the big date, then the first real, meaty adventure. If there's anything you wanna see in the story, I have broad strokes figured out but really could use some ideas for missions and such. Just drop me a line!**

 **Special thanks to the people following and who have favorited this story, AlmostAnne, Elisenj03, and TheTenthWalker, Jess114, and very special thanks to my first reviewer, Kaeden Miles**

Rachel McCoy could hardly believe her luck. She was on the biggest, best ship in the fleet, her very best friends were all here with her, and she actually had a date! A real date, with a nice man who had gorgeous eyes, fantastic hair, and a frankly wonderful accent. He'd walked her around the ship, painfully shy and adorably courteous. Yes, it had been manipulated by Leo, but he really couldn't help himself when it came to her love life, or lack of one. At least he and Jimmy- the _Captain_ , she reminded herself fiercely- weren't chasing this one off with thinly veiled threats about dark corridors and hyposprays filled with knockout juice. No, Leo actually seemed to like this man, and Captain Kirk wouldn't have Pavel on his ship if he wasn't good at his job, and a good guy besides.

Rachel put the rest of her belongings up happily, humming to herself. Her roommate hadn't introduced themselves to her yet, and as far as Rachel could tell hadn't come in to the room after Pavel had dropped her off. Rachel's bags had arrived as she was going about her morning routine, and she had made herself busy putting away her clothes and music discs, carefully pulling her Ka'athyra out of its case to check it for damage from the move. She placed it back in its holdings, gently putting the case into a niche in the wall that would protect it from damage if the ship started shaking or rolling about. Her small Indaran shrine and spirit candles went onto a small table besides her bed, and she placed her Vulcan meditation lamp on the short, long chest at the end of her narrow sleep niche. Rachel looked at her side of the room with satisfaction. All she'd need was Leo or Spock to hang up her tapestries, and it would be like home, her home. She glanced at her roommate's side of the room, sighing happily when she realized none of their things would clash, either in style or color. In fact, that entire side of the room looked wholly unlived in, from the lack of wall hangings to the hospital corner bed spread. Rachel was honestly glad the other person hadn't been there, as the prior night had been a tangle of unfamiliar sheets and a gasping, cold awakening from a nightmare into a room she hadn't quite made her own yet. But she'd had blessedly managed to fall back asleep without her hypospray, and the nightmares had stayed at bay for once.

Rachel was dragged from her musings by the door chime chiming brightly, and she walked to the door smiling to herself. The only people she knew that voluntarily woke up this early were Nyota and Spock, and the second door chime told her that it was obviously Ny at the door. She always rang twice, too impatient to wait for someone to answer. Rachel smoothed her hair down and looked at her uniform. Not a hair or thread out of place. Rachel pressed the "open" button and immediately found herself swept up in a hug by her dearest girlfriend.

"We wanted to be your first guests!" Nyota squealed into her ear, spinning her around before releasing her with a wide smile. Spock followed her in, a slight twitching of his lips the only change in his carefully neutral expression as he noticed her Vulcan meditation lamp and Ka'athyra case in its niche on the bookcase.

"I see you are settling in well, Rachel. Perhaps you do not need our help, as Nyota had claimed." Spock said, eyes twinkling softly at her.

"Hush, you." Nyota scolded him jokingly, smiling at Rachel as she glanced about the small room with her nose scrunched up. "It's rather small, isn't it? I thought with your connections they would have put you at least on deck four."

"I didn't want them to, Nyota. I'll work my way up there. Besides, it's bigger than my room on the 'Moto, and I think it's homey anyway. But it's good that you came by, I need a tall man to help me put up my tapestries." Rachel replied, smiling widely at Spock's aggrieved sigh.

"As the tallest man in the vicinity, I suppose that duty falls onto me, does it not? If you will prepare tea, and show me the box, I will do this for you. Am I correct in assuming they are the same tapestries you had at the Academy?" Spock asked, following her over to the box that held her treasured collection of Vulcan and Indaran wall art. She left him there with the tools, trusting in his innate logic and memory of her room at the Academy to guide him in where to hang them, and assisted Nyota in filling the teapot with hot water from the synthesizer and tea leaves from her tea canister. The table only had two chairs, so they drug the one from the desk over to it, adjusting the bar to the correct height. The two women sat and began to chat in quiet Indaran, sipping from their fragrant tea occasionally.

"We came yesterday after supper to give you a tour around the ship, but you weren't here. Did Len give you a good tour?" Nyota asked Rachel, raising an eyebrow in a good impression of her Vulcan boyfriend when Rachel blushed suddenly.

"N-no, actually Lieutenant Chekov gave me a tour and walked me here. It was nice." Rachel replied, her blush deepening when Nyota started to smile at her.

"Oh? And why are we blushing, hmm? Does someone have a crush?" Nyota teased, then continued. "He's a nice guy, Rache. You certainly could do worse. Do you want me to see if I can arrange a meeting for you? Maybe drop a few hints his way?"

"He actually asked me out last night when he dropped me off. We're going to meet for dinner tomorrow in his quarters when he gets off his shift." Rachel said, smiling wide when the other woman gaped at her then laughed.

"Rache, that's great. This is gonna be your first date since that guy at the Academy, right? Are you gonna need some help getting ready? I'm sure Spock won't begrudge a few hours of my time to help you." Nyota said happily. She had always wanted Rachel to get out more, and she was certainly going to take any opportunity to dress up her gorgeous friend. She laid a hand on Rachel's arm, looking into her eyes with a gentle smile. "I really am happy you're here, Rache. We've all missed you a lot, even Spock. Especially Spock. Now, tell me what you're thinking about wearing!"

The two women continued to chirp and trill to each other in Rachel's native language as Spock finished up hanging the intricate tapestries on Rachel's wall. He put the tools back into the box he'd found them in and joined the women at the table, drinking his tea and listening to them chat, adding in a comment when he felt it was necessary. Soon, he was clearing his throat and alerting the women that they would soon have to procure nourishment, or else he and Nyota were going to go hungry before their shift. The three of them made quick work of the cleanup, and were soon on their way to the main mess hall to meet their crewmates for breakfast.

The trio arrived at the mess hall, Rachel and Nyota still laughing at a joke the latter had told as they went through the food line. They made their way over to the table that the bridge officers were at, and quickly sat down in the few open seats left. Rachel found herself sitting next to her uncle again, with Mr. Scott, who was going to be her commanding officer, on the other side. Across from her was Pavel, his eyes sleepy and hooded as he blearily drank from a mug of black coffee.

"Well, Ensign McCoy! How're ye findin' the Enterprise, lass? Is she a beauty or what?" Scotty asked, turning slightly to her and smiling widely as he spoke. All eyes turned to her as they waited her answer about Scotty's beloved ship.

"She is the most gorgeous ship I've ever seen, sir. I'm still in shock that I'm allowed to work on her." Rachel replied, passing Scotty's little test- and it was a test- with flying colors. He fairly beamed at her as they delved into a highly technical conversation about the engines. Soon, Scotty excused himself to start his day, and Rachel went back to eating her breakfast, casting an occasional glance at Pavel over the rim of her teacup.

"Hey Rache! How'd you like your first day on board?" Captain Kirk asked as he sat down, oddly chipper for him being as it was too early and he hadn't started guzzling coffee yet. "But," Rachel mused to herself silently, "this Kirk is different than the one I met at the Academy. Now he's a Captain, not the bad mouthed cadet with a chip on his shoulder." She smiled and nodded at Kirk, replying, "Oh, it was great! I had the most informative tour, and I can't wait to get to work. Any clue when that'll be, Captain?"

"Not my area Rache, sorry, but I'm sure Personnel would know. Say, if you aren't doing anything tomorrow night, maybe you, me, and Bones could have dinner?" Kirk asked, smile wide.

"Sorry, I have plans." Rachel replied, winking at Kirk and taking a long sip of her tea. She winced when she realized that Kirk was just going to latch onto that information and tease her incessantly about them when he figured out what those plans were, and who they were with.

She refused to answer his multiple questions about her plans, and begged off the offer of a personal tour of the "finer" points of the ship from Mr. Scott. Rachel gathered up her tea and tray, dumping both into the waste reclaimator before exiting the mess hall. Her uncle jumped up and followed her out, laying a hand on her shoulder and barking out a laugh when it made her jump and spin around.

"Jeeze Rache, jumpy enough?" He asked her, smirking at her reddened cheeks. "So, you and Chekov have a date then?" He asked, throwing an arm across her shoulder and leading her towards Sickbay.

"Yes, we do, not that it's any of your business, you nosy old man." Rachel grouched back as the entered a turbolift. "Sickbay" She called to the computer, knowing that would be where Leo would want to go, it being her first day there.

"You know that he's three years younger than you, right?" He asked her good naturedly, shuffling her out of the Turbolift when it stopped on the right deck.

"What does that matter?" Rachel asked him, rolling her eyes when he ushered her into the small bathroom to change into an exam gown.

"Oh, it doesn't really, I was just making sure you knew." He called through the door. She came out in the backless white gown, rolling her eyes again at his loud laugh.

"Just shut up and get one of your subordinates over here to take my blood pressure and other superfluous medical stuff you need." She snapped at him, scowling at his expression of mirth.

"Jabilo, do you mind coming over here and giving my niece the once over? She seems to think I don't know what to do." Leo called over his shoulder, ushering Rachel into a small exam room before making himself scarce.

"Hello, Ensign. My name is Doctor M'Benga, are you feeling well today?" Doctor M'Benga spoke perfect Vulcan, and she replied in kind how she was feeling. The medical exam passed swiftly, and he gave her a clear bill of health after asking a few uncomfortable questions about the twisted cartilage lumps showing through the skin of her back. She deflected, then stated simply that it was a personal matter that had no impact on her current health when he persisted. He released her after getting her permission to ask her uncle about them. He waved her out of the exam room and waited until she had changed and left before going to file his paperwork on her, deciding to leave the matter of asking Doctor McCoy anything about his niece until later on.

Meanwhile, Rachel fair well skipped down to the Personnel office to talk yet again with the grouchy Ensign Mateso. He almost rolled his eyes when he saw her bound through his doors, and snapped a sharp, "Sit down, McCoy." At her.

"I'm here to get my assignment. I think I'm supposed to be on Gamma shift?" Rachel asked quickly, trying to glance at his computer. The less time she spent with the man the better. He seemed incredibly upset about doing anything close to his job, and his demeanor this morning wasn't any better than it had been the day before.

"Yes, well, you were supposed to originally. However, after we picked you up from your last posting, an Ensign on Beta shift asked to switch to Gamma, and since you have the least seniority in Engineering, it's you who'll be taking his place. All of the other officers on Gamma shift in Engineering are content to stay where they are. You'll be starting on Beta shift the day after tomorrow. Report to Lieutenant Hinson at 1600 hours in main engineering. Anything else you need to know?" Mateso said quickly, eyes already glued back to the display in front of him.

'No, I think that's fine. Thanks!" Rachel called brightly, allowing her pheromones shift the mood slightly around them as she stood. The man behind the desk blinked confusedly at her, before finally allotting her a slight smile as he waved her out of his office. Once outside she cursed at herself slightly. She'd promised herself to not use her advantage to affect anyone here. She quickly clamped her controls over her still flaring pheromones, and walked away from the Personnel office.

"Hey, wait up!" Called a familiar voice from behind her. Rachel smiled inwardly as she stopped walking. Her uncle was unlikely to leave her alone for the next few days, and it was just as well, since she'd missed him terribly since he'd been on the Enterprise. He caught up to her in seconds, and she easily looped her arm around his as they continued down the corridor.

"So? When's your first shift?" Leo asked excitedly, maneuvering her back into his office and making her a cup of tea from the hot water in the synthesizer. She sat in the only available chair not covered in PADDS and discarded uniform jackets and told him the whole story of what had happened in Mateso's office, leaving out her slip up.

"Beta shift, huh? Well that's not too bad. In a few months, I'm sure you'll wow this Lieutenant Hinson so much, he'll pass you on up to Alpha shift. At least you're not starting bare bones on Gamma like you were going to. Have you met your supervisor yet?"

"No, not yet. I'll just wait until the day after tomorrow. I got lucky though, I thought I was gonna have to reschedule my date with Pavel if I had to start working tomorrow. Coincidentally, do you know why I'm on medical leave for tomorrow, or are we just pretending that I didn't read that on Mateso's computer?" Rachel asked playfully, a single eyebrow raised at her slightly embarrassed uncle.

"Come on, Rache, this is your first date since the Academy. I thought maybe you could use just a little help. Aren't you gonna thank me?" Doctor McCoy replied, chuckling at Rachel when she blushed, her cheeks darkening as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, thank you. Happy now?" Rachel grumbled, taking a sip of her tea and wincing at the taste. "Really, Leo, I'll never understand how a brilliant surgeon like you is so absolutely clueless when it comes to making tea."

"It's a gift. Now, do I need to give you the talk, young lady, or are you gonna keep your pheromones to yourself for the time being? 'Cause I don't think Chekov really needs any help when it comes to liking you." Leonard asked, laughing loudly when she blushed darkly and chirped something rude in Indaran at him. He laughed harder when she picked up the nearest object to her- a PADD on Orion mating habits- and chucked it at his chest.

* * *

 **This may be an odd place to cut the chapter, but if I hadn't it was gonna end up being 1500 hundred words more, and I was told that's considered too long of a chapter. As it is, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. I've had the idea for this story for a while, but I'm just now starting to write it out. So, the chapters will be up as I finish them, and hopefully it won't take six months to write the next one. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel smiled into the mirror, then pouted, before turning to Nyota and frowning at her.

"I don't know, Ny. Isn't it a bit much?" Rachel asked her, gesturing at the slinky dress that the communications officer had forced her into. Compared to Rachel's normal off duty ensemble of loose shirts and trousers, this was miles away from what she normally wore when she wasn't elbow deep into an engine.

"No! You look gorgeous, Rachel! Seriously, your legs go on for miles in that dress! If you don't wear that, I'll have to call Security, because that would be a real crime! Besides, Pavel will love it!" Nyota exclaimed, waving Rachel over to the bed to put on the strappy sandals that she'd dug up from her store of shoes.

"It's just been a while, Ny. And I don't seem to remember you being as insistent when I went on my last date, anyway." Rachel replied, putting the shoes on and taking a few experimental steps in them.

"Well, your last date was with that absolutely awful flight instructor, and he had no clue how to treat a woman like you anyway. Pavel's different, he's sweet. Now smile!" Nyota said with a grin, pulling a holo-imager from her desk and snapping a picture of the seriously blushing woman before pushing her out of her quarters with the carry bag that held the Indaran drink she'd been saving for a special occasion. Rachel walked down the corridor until she came to the door that said "Lieutenant Pavel Chekov- Chief Navigator". She gulped, steeling her nerves, and rang the chime.

Pavel answered the door almost immediately, a nervous smile playing across his delicate features. He went wide eyed as he took in her appearance, swallowing thickly as he ushered her into his quarters. He scrubbed a hand through his errant hair-he had tried to get it to lay flat, but it just hadn't listened to him, as usual.

Rachel looked around the quarters, noting the hastily made bed and the PADDs strewn across the desk. Obviously, he'd tried to clean quickly, and from the look of the place, he didn't usually have visitors. As the least senior of the Bridge crew, his quarters were only slightly bigger than the shared quarters that Rachel shared with her still absent roommate, but he had made good use of the space he had. The colors were cool and calming, nothing really clashed. He had a 3-D chess board on a stand in one corner, with two chairs on either side of it, and a mostly dead plant on a small table next to the couch.

"Can I take your bag?" Pavel asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. She smiled and gave it to him, crossing to the couch to look at the pictures he had hanging over it. They showed a loving, if not short childhood, the pictures of two young boys playing in the Russian snow changing to pictures of a teenage Pavel in a Starfleet cadet uniform standing next to a tired looking woman in her late forties.

"My brother Piotr, and my _Mama_. Zat was taken on ze day we took our assessment tests for school," Pavel said, pointing at the first picture, "And Zat was taken on ze day I went to ze Academy. Piotr was in class zat day, and couldn't come." He finished, handing her a wine glass and ushering her over to a fully set table, which had a full vegetarian spread. "I hope you like ze food. Carrie from ze mess hall staff helped me. I though since you'd been raised on Vulcan zat you would be a vegetarian like Mr. Spock."

Rachel took a seat in a chair that felt like it had never been sat in, and smiled over the rim of her wine glass at the man in front of her. "It looks wonderful! And yes, I am a vegetarian, more out of necessity at first. Since we couldn't really get hold of fresh meat on the Vulcan-That-Was, my mother had to learn how to cook fully vegetarian meals for all of us. She got to be really good at it too. You really didn't have to go all of this trouble though, Pavel. I would have been fine eating meat, I have done it before."

"It was no trouble, Rachel, I did enjoy finding out how many vegetarian dishes the Mess Hall had on its menu. Besides, I liked ze challenge." Pavel replied, his ears going red as he dished up a plate and sat across from her. They ate in silence for several minutes, both awkwardly trying to not let the other catch them looking before Rachel broke the silence.

"So, what got you interested in Starfleet?" She asked him, before spearing a bit of salad on the end of her fork and eating it, staring at him in interest as he tried to think of a way to answer to her sudden question.

"My father. He's always wanted one of us to be in Starfleet, and once I was in ze academy, I loved it. It was ze only place zat I wasn't treated like a child, and it made Papa happy. My brother on ze other hand, you couldn't get him into Starfleet even if zey offered him a ship right out of ze Academy. Why did you join?" He asked her, taking a sip of the fragrant Indaran Ale she had brought with her. It was crisp and fruity, and an excellent pairing to the food that he had brought to his quarters. Rachel was silent for a moment, a serious look slipping over her face before she answered.

"I've always had a talent for fixing broken things, and I wanted to help people. Starfleet seemed like the best place to do both of those things. Besides that, I've always loved space, and I get all three of those things here in Starfleet." Rachel replied, moving a few things around on her plate.

"Do you want to play chess?" Rachel asked a few minutes later, helping Pavel put the dishes into the catering cart by the door.

"Sure, if you want to. Be prepared, I've never lost a game." Pavel replied, surprising them both by winking at her as they took their places on either side of the chess board. Rachel blushed again, then made the first move.

"So, do you have any siblings?" Pavel asked, making an easy counter move. She moved another piece to a lower section of the board before answering in the negative.

"Most Indarans are only children. I don't have any other aunts or uncles besides Leo and his ex-wife, Celeste. Other than Piotr, do you have any siblings?"

"No, my mama wanted a daughter, but got Piotr instead. She said ze two of us were enough to handle. I don't have any cousins, either, but I do have an uncle, Dmitri. He is a Navigation teacher for ze Civilian Space Corps on Proxima Colony. He visits earth from time to time, and he's ze one zat convinced me to go with Navigation instead of Engineering."

"Not like that stopped the Captain from making you chief engineer for a while." She replied cheekily, smiling widely at him when he looked confused. "Leo would write me these novel length letters about the crew, the ship, and the harebrained things that Kirk would get this ship into when I was stationed aboard the Hashimoto. Your name came up from time to time. Apparently, you found red not to your tastes, and took a demotion to prove it. Leo admired you for that, you know."

"Red looks better on you zen it does me, zat's for sure." Pavel blurted out, then immediately blanched. His head dropped into his hands and he groaned. "I didn't say zat out loud, did I?" He mumbled, embarrassed. Rachel smiled at him, and placed a hand on his wrist.

"Thank you for saying that. It was sweet. Now, hurry up and make your move so I can beat you!" Rachel crowed, a wide smile on her face as she watched him take in the board and her winning move. "Check!"

Pavel stared at the chessboard in shock, tried to make a few moves, then laid down his king in shock. There had been no way out of her trap. She had beaten him fair and square, and he had no idea how she had distracted him enough to do it.

"Where in ze world did you learn to play chess like zat?" He asked, putting the chess pieces back into their starting positions and staring at the woman in front of him.

"Well, both Spock and the Captain are really good chess players, in their own ways. Between the two of them, I got my backside handed to me a bunch at the Academy, and I just combine their strategies whenever I happen to play someone else. Do you want to play again? Maybe you can beat me this time." Rachel said with a chuckle, winking at him. Pavel shook his head firmly, standing and walking over to his couch instead.

"I was zinking zat we could talk some more instead. I zink I will need some practice before our next game. Could you tell me a little about your time at ze Academy? I never saw you zere."

"Well, we were in different concentrations, and you were the year above me, right? We didn't have any classes in common, and I stayed off campus after the first semester." Rachel replied, pouring them both another glass of the Indaran Ale and joining him on the couch.

"Really? Why didn't you live in ze student dorms?" Pavel asked, leaning onto the arm of his side of the couch, Rachel followed suit on her side, taking a sip of her drink.

"I was required to stay on campus the first semester by the Campus Life board, but after that, I stayed with Leo in his off campus apartment. We were better suited to it anyway. The captain had been nagging Leo to let him have the spare bedroom for the whole time before I was accepted to the Academy, and there was no way in hell Leo was going to let the parade of Jimmy's lady friends into his apartment. So, after I met the requirements for off campus housing, I moved into Leo's apartment full time. I'd already been sleeping there on the weekends and over breaks anyways, except when aunt Celeste wanted me home for a visit over summer break and stuff." she answered, arranging her legs in a more ladylike fashion to stop her dress from riding up.

"I wish I'd gotten an apartment during ze Academy. My roommate was less that pleased with my habit of staying up late to work on my projects. But I was too young to sign a lease, and zere was no way Mama would have let me live in an apartment by myself. She almost had a heart attack when I told her I was going to have to stay in ze Academy dorms." Pavel said, discreetly scooting a little closer to Rachel on the couch.

"Was she expecting you to transport back and forth every day?" Rachel asked, a bemused expression on her face.

"I don't think she even thought about it." Pavel admitted, both of them laughing a little before scooting a little closer to each other, leaving only a few inches of space in between their bodies.

"Maybe she thought you would be up all night drinking and carousing, not paying a bit of attention to your class work." Rachel teased, tucking a strand of glossy black hair behind her ear.

"Maybe she did. Though, I would have preferred staying home and commuting if it had been possible rather zan stay in ze dorms. The other students teased me a bit, including the Keptin." Pavel said, shifting again so that they were almost touching.

"Do they still tease you a lot here?" Rachel asked, glancing up at Pavel with a shy smile. Pavel gazed back at her, and was momentarily mesmerized by her lips, so close and inviting looking.

"Zey do, but it isn't bad. Since I'm the youngest, I am ze butt of all ze jokes. I'm sure you had much of ze same at ze Academy from Doctor McCoy and Keptin Kirk?" He asked, cautiously laying a hand over hers on the couch.

"Oh, of course! If Jimmy and Len weren't trying to scare off any guy who looked at me, then they were teasing me about them instead. It got worse when I took two semesters at the London campus, one of them calling me every day to get in a whole day's worth of teasing." She replied, smiling widely at him.

"Zat must be why I never saw you around ze Engineering building. You were at ze London campus when I was taking my engineering credits. Did you Study under Commander Zolo?" He asked her excitedly,

"Yeah, his warp theory class was top notch! He taught me more in a semester then I had learned in the last two years combined. Did you ever get to take his class?"

"I was going to be taking an extra semester to take his class, but zen ze Nero zing got me assigned here. I love it here, but I still zink about what it would have been like. If you are good enough to go to ze London campus, why were you assigned to ze Hashimoto instead of somewhere like ze Yamato? Or even here?" Pavel asked her, curious to hear her answer.

"Well, the admiralty is still unsure about the logic of species outside of the Federation being in the Fleet. The assignment committee thought that a "trial period" on board the 'Moto would be a good test on my people's ability in space. I guess it went well, since I'm here now. However, Commander Zolo was furious on my behalf, and offered me a space teaching on the London campus if I ever feel like putting down roots."

Pavel's eyes widened and he leaned back a bit speculatively. "If he offered you a job right out of ze Academy, you must be brilliant. No one gets to teach right out of ze Academy, especially not in engineering."

Rachel unconsciously leaned towards him and he mimicked her actions, until their faces were separated by no more than half a foot. Her breath caught, and he found himself staring at her lips again. They were so red, and she was so close to him. He leaned in, and within a second he found himself kissing her deeply and soundlessly, her responding enthusiastically, hands in his hair.

They broke apart after a few seconds, both of them wide eyed and breathless.

"Wow." Rachel breathed, eyes sparkling at him from under her eyelashes. He nodded in agreement before ducking back to capture her lips a second time, his hand resting lightly on her waist as she pressed a little closer to him, hands still tangled in his hair. At that exact moment, the door chimed.

Rachel jumped away from Pavel like a teenager caught by an angry mom, and stood up quickly, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress with a hand as he went to answer the door.

"Hi, I'm Sally from the Mess Hall. I came to see if you were still using that catering cart?" The blonde woman said quickly, smiling when she looked into the room and saw a very embarrassed Rachel still smoothing non-existent wrinkles from her dress.

"Yes, here you go." Pavel replied shortly, wheeling the small cart into the hallways for her.

"Great! If you could just sign here to show that I made pickup at the agreed upon time." Sally continued, handing Pavel a PADD and a stylus. Pavel signed quickly and let the door close behind him, running a hand over his decidedly messier hair as he turned to face a now bashful Rachel.

"It's getting late, and you have to be on the bridge for Alpha shift tomorrow. Do you mind walking me back to my quarters? I'm sure Leo is waiting for me like a nervous sheepdog." Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Of course. Let me get my boots." Pavel sat on the couch and put his boots on quickly, leading the way out of his Quarters after he checked the hall to make sure the Mess Hall employee wasn't still there.

They walked back to the turbolift in silence, neither knowing how to broach the subject of what had happened in his quarters just minutes before. They arrived at the turbolift quickly, and blessedly, it was empty. Once the door had shut, they both turned to each other and started talking at once.

"I had a really-"

"Do you want to-"

"You first." Pavel said with a wry grin.

"I had a really nice time tonight." Rachel said, grabbing a hold of his hand suddenly. He gripped hers back and smiled shyly at her.

"I did too. Do you want to do it again sometime?" Pavel asked, holding his breath for her answer. If she said no…

"Do you mean the dinner or the kissing?" Rachel asked teasingly, before winking. "Because I'm fine with either, or both. Maybe not at the same time though, that could be mess-" she was cut off suddenly by Pavel's lips connecting with hers again before the turbolift's door opened on the deck her quarters were on. However, because Rachel had been expected by her uncle a half hour before, in front of the opened doors were a displeased looking Doctor McCoy and a fairly gleeful Captain Kirk. The latter of the two spent the ten seconds before Pavel and Rachel noticed the open doors looking in between the entwined couple and the now fairly sick looking doctor.

"Mr. Chekov, Ms. McCoy. If you don't mind stepping out of the turbolift, I have somewhere to go. And I think you have to have an uncomfortable conversation with the good doctor, Mr. Chekov. Goodnight to all three of you. Good luck Bones." The captain said with a smirk, letting Rachel and Pavel past him as he entered the turbolift.

"Excuse me." Rachel said to her uncle with a soft smile, giving Pavel one more glance, then slipping by the doctor and heading down the hall to her quarters. Pavel watched her leave with an answering goofy smile on his face, before turning and entering the turbolift with Doctor McCoy.

"She's an adult, and her dates are her business. But I'll tell you this just once, kid. You hurt her, I hurt you. Got it?" McCoy said seriously, staring hard at Pavel. He drummed his fingers against his leg impatiently as he waited for the flustered young Navigator to respond, idly noting that the kid was looking distinctly flustered.

"I understand." Pavel replied softly, looking the older man in the eye as he continued, "I won't hurt her, I promise. You have nothing to worry about."

Leonard smiled widely, before throwing his arm over Pavel's shoulders. "Good. Nice to be on the same page. Now, why don't you join me for a nightcap?"

"Zat sounds good, Doctor McCoy." Pavel replied, smiling weakly at the other man.

"Oh, call me Leonard, son. Or Len. We've known each other long enough. Now, how do you feel about whiskey?"


End file.
